There
is something poignant and evocative about Imphal, the capital city of
Manipur. It has been almost a year back when I first visited Imphal and
the loneliness of the place still haunts me. The violence ravaged city
stands alone, like a stoic mountain enduring its pain in silence.

As I and few of my friends entered Imphal, all we saw
were jawans of Indian armed forces lined up its various streets as long
as our eyes could see them. The long queue of jawans in fatigues and
bandanaas created a hallucination like feeling for the visitors. They
were spread everywhere.

I asked myself, "Is this India, or a
foreign land?" The prying eyes of army men narrated the whole story.
"Not all is well with Manipur." Otherwise, why in a democratic country
army men are dictating every move of civilians? It is the draconian
Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) which gives Indian army the power to kill and arrest anybody in Manipur according to their whims and fancies.

It
is not just Imphal but its inhabitants also carried a piercing
melancholic look. Even when they smile, it is not hard to miss the tears
in their eyes. This is no exaggeration but reality which we (read
mainland India and its people) often love to ignore. And this is the
plight of Manipur, where militancy, corruption and lack of governance
have created a complex situation, which is difficult to describe in few
words.

And defining the tragedy of Manipur and its people is Irom
Sharmila Chanu. The lone woman, who is on fast for last 12 years to
express her protest against AFSPA.

So, all young men and women in Manipur (the entire northeast
for that matter) are prospective terrorists, especially when "special
laws" like AFPSA makes a mockery of living in a 'free country'. The
shroud of "disturbed area" tag engulfs the entire northeast India, almost since the Indian republic got its independence.

On mere suspicion, people are arrested and killed at point blank by the law enforcing agencies in the Northeast region. It is true that Northeast
is hit by militancy but tell me about one place in India where crime
and killings don't take place. You can't. But I can tell you that
nowhere else in India, common citizens have to prove themselves to be
law-abiding citizens of the nation every day.
Sharmila completed 12 years of her hunger fast against the controversial Act on Monday, Nov 5.

Sharmila
(41) has been fasting since Nov 5, 2000, a couple of days after Assam
Rifles personnel gunned down 10 civilians including a National Child
Bravery Award winner near a bus stand at Malom village along the Imphal-Aizawl highway.

"Sharmila completes
the 12th year of her fast today (Monday) and she is entering the 13th
year of her stir. She will continue till the oppressive act is repealed.
The state government as well as the 60 legislators are watching her
struggle but are not taking steps to scrap the act. We are not happy
with their attitude towards her struggle," Irom Singhajit, Sharmila's
elder brother said.

The sight of Sharmila, a petite woman wrapped
in a shawl with a pipe inserted in her nose can easily move anyone to
tears. But it seems Indian authority has decided to maintain its silence
and waiting for Sharmila to die the death of a martyr? No authority, no
politician, no bureaucrat had ever shown their solidarity to Sharmila.
But the fragile and weak woman is determined enough to fight her battle
alone by refusing to take food and water for more than 500 weeks now. In
fact, she has created a world record for being "the world's longest
hunger striker", a feat which is nothing to celebrate but rather we
should mourn about it.

"I am not going to break my fast and am ready to die for a cause that I believe is just and right," Sharmila said.

"I am fighting for justice," Sharmila sounding confident, said in a feeble voice.

The
authority may be blind towards her demands but they are scared by the
bravery of a lonely unarmed woman, who has become a symbol of resistance
against dictatorial attitude of the Central government.

Three
days after she began her strike, she was arrested by the police and
charged with an "attempt to commit suicide", which is unlawful under
section 309 of the Indian Penal Code, and was later transferred to
judicial custody. Her health deteriorated rapidly and the police then
forcibly had to use nasogastric intubation in order to keep her alive
while under arrest. Since then, Irom Sharmila has been regularly
released and re-arrested every year under IPC section 309, a person who
"attempts to commit suicide" is punishable "with simple imprisonment for
a term which may extend to one year (or with fine, or with both)".

Within the confines of her hospital bed, Sharmila writes fervently, with the hope that one day authority would listen to her cries.

Apart
from being a political crusader and civil rights activist, Sharmila is a
poet too. She has published her poetry collection "Fragrance of Peace"
in 2010, which contains twelve of her poems. The poems were originally
written in her native language Meiteilon. The poems of Sharmila consist of a unique blend of passion, protest and hope.

Wake Up (By Irom Sharmila Chanu)Wake up brothers and sistersThe saviour of the nationWe have come out all the wayKnowing we all will dieWhy the fear isSo shaky in the heart?Yes, myself tooIn the impact of this hard stepOverwhelmed with anxiety and fearWith the prayer to almightyPraising the spirit of truthTouchily from this frail bodyI am bidding farewellYet longing for lifeThough birth is followed by deathSo fond of to accompliceMy desired mission
Hope
isolation of Sharmila and her struggle comes to an end soon before it
takes another shape. For a Gandhian like Sharmila, violence can never be
a tool to continue a legitimate struggle. But in Manipur, where militancy has taken the shape of cottage industry, future might have more episodes of violence in store.